B&W

I bought them the early '90s for about $!300 (HI-FI cable included). They have been my main speakers for 22 years and replaced my Martin Speakers USA 110 Micro-Max, which I still have but use only as rear speakers. I bought them after listening to them. I went to the shop with the idea of replacing my Martins with a Triphonique model that would take up less space in my living room and I ended up with these speakers. I was seduced by their sound quality that dwarfed the Bose Triphonique back then. They were originally amplified with a Luxman LV-100 and then with a Kenwood KA-V8500. Nothing extraordinary, but a perfect match for the B&W. I would buy the speakers again, but I'd change the amp. I like to keep the speakers, both for sentimental reasons as for their excellent sound quality. They are not MartinLogan Electrostatic, which are the most extraordinary thing I have ever heard. They simply disappear to the benefit of the music and the musicians, allowing you to really hear them, and even picture them. But what seduced me and is always relevant, can be summarized in three words: Dynamics, Warmth, Power. Listening to Vivaldi or Wagner, Jazz or Metal, they can cope with anything you through at them. The sound is clean and detailed, from the bottom to the high end. The possibility to use two vent lengths (short and long) or to shut it off allows a very broad adjustment of the speakers according to the room. What's more, they can be bi-amplified! The only problem with this type of speakers is their size when you want to install them in reduced spaces or rooms with lots of furniture. Even if they are not the best speakers out there, they require an appropriate space. However, I have them hidden behind the shelfs that surround my plasma, which speaks highly of their quality and versatility. And even in this more than questionable position, they deliver! With an original design, a modified three-way that features a tweeter and two woofers (20cm) with a crossover at 400Hz, the result is stunning and impeccable. Bottom line, I don't regret having taken the risk back then, especially since they don't seem to age, They have also given me great results for my home cinema. I'm looking forward to see what they deliver with the new amp. : )

Really nice small speakers! I have been using them for a dozen years and I don't have anything to reproach them. They are still good (very good) with a low-end Pioneer, an old Toshiba or a Yamaha 596 amp. The pros: Precise sound, nice highs but not shrill at all (despite the Yamaha amp, which is sometimes stiff on the highs, depending on the source). The woofer is only 6.3" (16cm) big but it doesn't fear deep lows (at moderate volumes, though). The cons: They are only small speakers, so you can't expect too much from them, neither in terms of output power nor breadth of sound.

(Originally written by profmbo/translated from Audiofanzine FR) Excellent loudspeakers from 1976. I inherited them 20 years ago. Over the years I've always found that the Domestic Monitor sound very linear. But something happened when I placed them upside down on a loudspeaker stand 31.5" high. The sound was dramatically enhanced. I use them with a home cinema amplifier (HK AVR745 and YAMAHA DSP3090), with additional speakers (KLIPSCH RF-63, two BOSE 301 Series 2, two BOSE 601 Series 2, KLIPSCH RC-62, JBL TLX175) and sometimes with a PIONEER 9800 amplifier and loudspeakers with RCF horns and RCF L15P300 woofers. The other speakers and the amp HC settings add a slight coloration. Do consider that the inverted main speakers (B&W DM2) and the rear effect (BOSE 601) is not pleasant for every kind of music. After testing a long time with the amp, I found a setting that fits every kind of music from techno to classic to hard rock and disco (this setting is based on "Jazz club" 'Cellar club' with short reverb times and decreased effects). The DM2a is a vented enclosure loudspeaker made of dense absorbing material. The front side ends in an oblong opening which is nearly as wide as the front panel. The speakers aren't centered. It was a good product for sound enthusiasts at that time. Nowadays, it's a good deal since you can get them for a very small price. I'm disappointed with modern high-efficiency loudspeakers and I recently bought several 802 S1 which I intend to review here soon...

- For how long have you been using it? About 8 years. - What thing do you like most/least about it? The treble & mids on these are great. Never tiring, fairly detailed, well balanced...B&W have done a great job there: you can listen all day long and never get tired of them. The bass is not so fantastic simply because the woofers are a bit small. You can't expect miracles from these and on paper they go down to 63 Hz at -3 dB and 53 Hz at -6 dB if i recall correctly. So don't get expecting much at 30 Hz... ;-) If you want that big OOMPPH pass your way and go & get some big JBL floortsanders... BUT, place these correctly (ie on stands and far from walls or corners) and sit a few feet away and they can be surprisingly bassy. So that's the hardest thing with these, really: placement. If they don't sound good, you haven't placed them right. Simple as that. - Did you try many other models before getting this one? I listened to some cheap but much bigger Infinity units before i got these, and they had more bass but the bass was out of control. These, placed right, are tight and forget about distortion: these babies have woven kevlar woofers: turn up the volume and these will rattle the walls. 120W RMS. I pushed my 80W RMS Onkyo Integra 9711 to the max on them and they were fine, even on bassy disco. The walls were shaking, though! - What is your opinion about the value for the price? Retail price was normally 3500 Francs at the time (£350 back then, more now since the £ is worth bugger all these days), which would be 530 €. I paid 2400 F (360 €), new. I'd say the value was pretty damn good. If you want cheaper & smaller, go for the DM 601 S3's. They are half as much and quite a bit smaller but still sound good, although of course they have less bottom end. For the money, it would have been hard to get better without going second hand. A friend of mine got a pair of battered old JBL 4311's from Barclay Studios...for under £200. A good deal. But they're huge and one of the boomers has a hole in it! So...today, i'd look around the second hand market and probably go for something bigger. I'm currently dribbling over the B&W 704's. Expensive floorstanders...maybe one day?